5 breakout stars to watch for Chicago Bears in 2021

1. Chicago Bears breakout stars – RB David Montgomery

Another Bears’ offensive player who has had plenty of hype since he entered the NFL is David Montgomery, the Bears’ third-round pick in 2019. Montgomery split carries with Tarik Cohen in his rookie year but an injury to the latter in 2020 gave him the backfield to himself for the first time.

The results were solid for Montgomery, who received just five more carries than he did in 2019 but raised his yards per carry average from 3.7 to 4.3. Montgomery also maintained his red-zone production, rushing for eight touchdowns, and received some of Cohen’s passing down work by 54 passes for 438 yards along with two more scores.

There is a lot to like here with Montgomery, who should be the focal point of Chicago’s offense this season. It feels like the Bears have treated Montgomery with kid gloves for the better part of the past two years but his strong performance down the stretch indicated that there is star potential to exploit.

Montgomery really picked up his pace in the Bears’ final six games, rushing for 598 yards with seven touchdowns while adding 24 catches for another 226 yards with another touchdown. If Chicago commits to giving Montgomery 350 touches in 2021 he has a chance to be a top-five running back in the league, giving the Bears a breakout weapon that can truly transform their offense into a potent one.